Well, round 1 of the Guyson Scottish Sprint Championship and the Windowcraft Lowland Sprint Championship got off to a cracking start at Kames today.

I am running in class A8 - Marque Road Sports cars which pits me against the current Scottish Sprint Champion in his Lotus Exige. However, he and his partner didn't show up today so the class consisted of me in my trusty MX-5 and Melvyn (yes really) in his Porsche Boxster S. A bit of a mismatch you might think. The Boxster S has a 3.2 litre boxer engine producing 260bhp and can do 0-60mph in 5.7secs!

Turns out Melvyn had been competing for years and was a previous class winner at Kames but this was his first weekend out in the Porsche.

I resigned myself to aiming for beating my personal best of 100.99secs set in October last year.
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So, first practice came and I clocked 104.56 secs. Shaun reckoned I should be disappointed by this, especially since the Porsche clocked 101 secs. However, I was quite content as I knew I hadn't been pushing it.

Second practice was my first real try and I put in a barnstorming 100.75 secs - new personal best already! Even better, I had put the wind up Melvyn who was nearly a second slower.

Third practice saw me try a wee bit too hard. I got a poor start and overcooked my entry into the hairpin on my third lap. I clocked 101.1secs. Melvyn was down to 100.25secs now so I knew this was going to be a close run thing. We had a good chat and agreed this was one of the most competitive events we had been at for a while.

Lunchtime is always a pain the backside because it interupts the flow of the meeting for me. However, today it was much more pleasant as Robin had prepared a curry feast. Some bloke then came along and took a photo of the MX-5 contingent for the championship magazine.

After lunch the competitive runs began. I learned last year that it is very important to get a good run in as the weather can change for the worse. So I went hell for leather and managed to post 100.85secs - only 0.1 secs slower than my earlier personal best (I do seem to be fairly consistent here!). I got back to the pits in time to see Melvyn complete his run of 100.80secs. Incredible - only 5 1/100ths of a second separated us.

Final run came round and I decided I'd play with my new suspension. I gave if a couple of extra clicks at the back and an extra click at the front (I have no idea what this does but it looks as if I do). I got to the start line and had to wait as there was a problem with the timing gear - this is bad as the tyres cool down fairly rapidly and you lose the benefit of the tyre warming antics (if you were there, you'll know what I mean).

When the green light came on, I floored it. Mucho wheelspin Anyway, I recovered, up to second gear and and just kept it planted through the first corner - bl**dy hell - these tyres just keep on gripping! I hit the rev limiter just before the braking for the second corner. Hard on the gas and short shift to third. Hold on tight as we go down towards the hairpin. Hard on the brakes and heel-toe while changing down to second. The car twitches a wee bit coming out of the hairpin but it feels wuite smooth. Over the line and time to do it all again. After the third lap, I see the checkered flag and clock my time: 100.26 secs - another personal best - but is it enough to beat Melvyn???

Back at the pits, Melvyn comes up and asks what time I did. I couldn't bear the excitement. Was I on the brink of my first ever class victory. Or had I come second (and therefore last)? Melvyn says "I did 100.01secs". My heart sinks.

"I did 100.26secs".

"Oh well, better luck next time." he says as I shake his hand.

I will be back. I will beat 100 seconds. I will have my revenge on the Porsche.

Just goes to show what a great wee car the MX-5 really is to get so close to a 260bhp Porsche.

Melvyn was very gracious when he accepted his trophy - he said "I think I'll sell the Porsche anb get a Mazda - its a brilliant wee car - only 0.25secs slower than the Porsche!". To which the clerk of the course added "And you get more supporters with a Mazda too!".

Thanks to everyone who came to support - it was much appreciated. I hope I'll see some of you back at Kames and you'll see me break the magic 100sec barrier. Soon. It will happen.

Well done, sounds like a cracking event. I have absolutely no idea where Kames is does anyone run 5's at the Fintray Hillclimb events that happen up here, is that even the same kind of event? Displaying my total ignorance here

Thanks for the video, David. It's great to see just how the car is cornering now - not an inch off body roll, pitch or dive compared to the stock set-up. There is so much grip now that I never once found the limit on Sunday.

kevham wrote:Thanks for the video, David. It's great to see just how the car is cornering now - not an inch off body roll, pitch or dive compared to the stock set-up. There is so much grip now that I never once found the limit on Sunday.

Good point - it's interesting to compare the video of 07-10-07 with Sunday's. A lot less body movement now.